APRIL NEW HOME SALES INCREASE TO 526K FROM DOWNWARDLY REVISED 509K IN MARCH
Sales of new single-family homes rose 3.3% in April to an annual rate of 526K. That was slightly better than analysts expected but March home sales were revised down from the previously reported 526K to 509K. This was first increase in sales since last October. A revision to the seasonal factors has resulted in a lowering of all the monthly estimates since the beginning of the year, but does not change the 2007 annual average of sales which remain at 776K.
There were 456K homes for sale at the end of April, that constituted a 10.6 month’s supply at the current sales pace, slightly better than March’s 11.1 month’s supply. About 40% of the homes for sale at the end of April had already been completed and only 15% had not yet been started.
Home sales rose in three of the four geographic areas with the South being the only region experiencing a decline in new home sales. The Northeast experienced a 41.7% increase after a sharp decline of almost 30% in March.
The median price of new homes was $246,100 in April, up 1.5% from April 2007.